minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 17th January 2008 (Minute Nos. 779 - 787) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

declarations of interest

No interests were declared.

part b minutes for information

presentation from the english rural housing association

The Chairman welcomed Alison Thompson to the meeting.

She explained that English Rural Housing Association (ERHA) was a registered social landlord, established in 1991, to provide affordable social housing in small villages. The homes could only be occupied if the potential householder had a proven connection with the village and the houses could not be sold on the open market. She emphasised the need for rural housing and its importance to the sustainability of rural villages. There were 700 ERHA homes in England, about 300 of which were in Kent.

Ms Thompson explained that ERHA worked closely with Parish Councils who could often identify a suitable local site. Housing need surveys were carried out to establish a need, and developments were built on 'exception' sites. These were sites that were not normally identified as building land, where an exception policy was put in place for proven need. The developments were normally made up of eight to ten properties; these were one, two or three bedroom and they could be either occupied by shared ownership or by renting the property. She gave examples of local sites where ERHA had built houses. She explained that it often took a while to find the right site and its affect on the ecology and drainage on the site had to be considered. The houses needed to be in line with Level Three sustainability criteria which meant that conversion of older properties was often not viable as they could be expensive to convert.

In response to questions, Ms Thompson explained that those eligible to live in an ERHA house had to have lived in the village for at least five years or they could be returning to the village after having lived there for five years. The developments were funded by a 50 per cent grant from Central Government and the remainder was sourced via mortgages. She explained that ERHA was not a profit making organisation. Rents were in line with Local Authority rents.

In response to a question, Ms Thompson confirmed that EHRA would not dispose of a property if it became vacant. As they were built for a proven need, they would be offered to other parishes. She explained that this was very rare, as the need within villages was always there. In situations where the householder could not pay the mortgage, EHRA would buy the property back and the householder would rent instead.

Ms Thompson was thanked for her presentation.

update on leader funding

The Economic Development Officer gave an update on the progress of bids going forward for LEADER funding from Kent. He explained that a £2.5 million bid had been submitted in January 2008 and a decision on its success should be known in May 2008. Progress would then begin with a meeting of the local action group (LAG) and a decision making executive body would be elected from this group. He further explained the importance of identifying projects that would go forward for funding and reported that the money could not be rolled over. The programme of funding would become operational in October 2008, which enabled some time to finalise projects for funding.

In response to a question, the Economic Development Officer confirmed that there had not yet been any progress with the sub-group suggested at the meeting of the Forum on 17th January 2008 (Minute No. 786/01/08 refers).

Ms Taylor, Mid-Kent Leader+ and Rural Projects Programme Manager, Kent County Council advised that anyone was able to join a LAG and that the executive group would consist of twenty people. She suggested that she could assist with the project to help its progress.

biodiversity action plan (swale)

The Chairman welcomed Richard Moyse to the meeting.

He reported on the draft Biodiversity Plan (Swale) and explained that he had been working with various partners and had provided an update within Kent, which fitted in well with the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). Targets were being reviewed and changes in drivers included the effects of development pressures. A workshop had been held with various stakeholders who identified priorities and established different categories within the action plan.

He outlined the key habitats within Swale and reported that he had tried to find target areas with a spatial focus to enable them to be integrated with, for example the Local Development Framework. He emphasised the need to look at both Swale and the larger picture.

Mr Moyse explained that the progress would involve tourist-proofing the action plan, consultation and then engaging lead agencies to take the action plans forward.

In response to a question, Mr Moyse explained that it was important to continually update the BAP, although this was not easy when different partners were involved. Ms Newton suggested that it would be beneficial to have deadlines within the action plan supported by an external funding strategy.

Mr Moyse was thanked for his presentation.

environmental update

Ms Newton introduced her report which was an overview of current activities being co-ordinated through the Swale Green Grid Partnership. She brought Members' attention to copies of the Green Grid Strategy which set a framework of green work within Swale. She advised that the Partnership met quarterly to address emerging environmental issues.

She then went through the report and advised on any updates, where applicable.

She explained that there was a meeting the following week to focus on funding priorities from a Swale perspective for the Thames Gateways Parklands.

With regard to Landscape Partnership, Heritage Lottery Fund, she explained that Medway Council would now be working with the Partnership on this and if the bid was successful, this could assist other Local Authorities as well.

Thirteen thematic walks within Swale were to be included in the North Kent Walking Festival. Ms Newton considered that Swale was well represented in a booklet 'Wild about North Kent', a family-friendly guide to walking in Kent and a good example of partnership working within the Medway Swale Estuary Partnership.

The Chairman acknowledged the number of projects that had moved from the planning stage to delivery and emphasised the importance of partnership working. He considered that emerging projects fitted in well with Swale's regeneration plans.

funding programme (department for environment, food and rural affairs (defra))

The Chairman reported that DEFRA had received better funding than other ministries because of the increased importance of environmental issues. He stressed the importance of securing funding for future projects.

A Parish Councillor suggested that some reports were not always easy to understand and was unclear on how he could contribute. Ms Newton explained that the stakeholder workshop that was held last year had been well attended and emphasised that it was never too late to add any local projects to the Green Grid Strategy as it was a moving document. She suggested that a copy of the Green Grid Strategy could be issued to Town and Parish Councils.

The Leader suggested that he met with KALC Parish Representatives to work together on a presentation on green objectives to Parish Councils.

The Leader

climate change

The Chairman advised that Swale Borough Council (SBC) were making progress on the issue of climate change. He explained that the Nottingham Declaration had been signed and the Climate Change Officer's hours had been extended to devote more time to this role. He explained that SBC were developing a strategy to enable Swale to take the most effective course possible within the resources available.

The Leader acknowledged the Chairman's contribution to SBC's signing of the Nottingham Declaration.

Discussion ensued within the Forum on the effectiveness of SBC's contribution to combating climate change and whether the council could make a difference.

swale rural forum - way forward

Ms Newton reported that following the Budget Task Force, the Swale Rural Forum had been allotted £3,500 to support its work. She suggested that the report template was not user friendly and put people off reading the reports and engaging with the Forum which was seen as too formal.

The Economic Development Officer explained that the role of the Forum was to rural proof policies or to develop an action plan strategy. A Member suggested that neither of these were being achieved and that the Forum was becoming too structured and formal. Some members of the Forum considered the agenda format did not encourage public participation and that reports often had too many buzz words.

A member of the Forum suggested that it could be beneficial to have a working group following a presentation from outside parties so that there was some follow-up, and action to the topic that had been presented. Members discussed the pros and cons as to whether small groups were more beneficial than the larger Forum as a whole.

Members agreed that more action was needed.